Winds were starting to shift and gain in strength so we decided to start making our way north and east. It was a sporty but good sail to San Vito Lo Capo, and the beach under Monte Monaco was absolutely breathtaking. We headed ashore to do laundry and have a drink and some snacks. (We also did our good deed of the day and rescued a randomly floating dinghy in the harbor.)
But that night all hell broke loose. The heat was unbearable (somewhere in the 100’s) and the wind made it feel like sitting in front of a furnace blasting on high. I decided to sleep in the cockpit. I woke up after a few hours of restless sleep to see the mountain haloed in a red glow. Very strange, I thought. I watched. Suddenly, before my eyes, parts of the mountain caught fire and started to burn. I could not believe what I was seeing. It made sense, the heat and winds combined with the lack of rain made this place a tinder box. I waited half an hour before waking Trip up.
‘Um honey, I think the mountain is on fire.’
‘What???’ (Groggy)
‘Never mind, go back to sleep.’
‘No this I have to see.’
The fire raged all night and into the morning. We took turns sleeping and sitting up in the cockpit, monitoring the burning. The winds were blowing away from us, so our risk was low. But it was howling, gusting into the 30’s. I watched a floating pool toy blow by us. I watched a sail come unfurled and barely get rescued. I watched multiple boats drag anchor. It was an unnerving night. We later learned that 40 people had to be evacuated, including a group that had been in the mountains when the fire started and made it to the beach where the Coast Guard picked them up. Sadly, the whole area was left to burn. There are forest fires everywhere in Sicily right now and most of the firefighting resources (so limited and stretched thin) were busy in the Palermo area.
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